Reaching out
by Arami Heartilly
Summary: SQUINOA Takes place during and directly after theend of the game, squall realisies just how much he needs Rinoa and that when you love somebody it's alright to ask for their


Disclaimer, I don't own anything. Final fantasy 8 is the property of squaresoft. No money has or will exchange hands. thanx  
  
Reaching out. By Arami Heartilly.  
  
She stood in the cool night breeze, taking in the view of the stars and the moon as she rested against the smooth stone balcony. It was almost as if she'd never seen them before, although in truth it was more a realisation that they'd all come so close to never seeing them again.  
  
As she watched one particular star caught her eye as it blazed across the sky leaving a dissipating trail of light behind it and her memories flooded back of the last time she'd seen a shooting star and the young man who'd shared that moment with her.  
  
So with that in mind Rinoa turned to Squall, who stood deep in thought a little away from her on the balcony, and pointed up to the sky. He'd noticed it too and laughed softly at her ability to capture the moment in a simple gesture and smile. He reached out and took hold of her arm pulling her towards him as he did so and taking her into his arms he covered her smile with his own and kissed her letting his heart take the lead as he went.  
  
Rinoa felt her heart soar as he held her there and knew if it wasn't for his strong arms she'd have already slipped down to the floor, he seemed to know exactly how to move her and she reasoned – in the small part of her brain that was still able to comprehend anything – that they'd been through so much it would have been hard for him not to.  
  
Minutes, hours could have gone by and neither Squall nor Rinoa knew or cared, their world was their own. All that mattered was that he held her closely in his arms and that her own were rapped around his neck, her nose bumping with his ever now and then as it went far beyond a normal kiss, but eventually and slowly she pulled back to look at him. She noticed the way his eyes looked only at her, eyes once filled solely with pain and fear, now showed her the feelings of past heartache – the warmth, the caring and the love that resided in their depths. His hair was blowing around his face in the breeze, flicking past his scar between his eyes. A scar who's perpetrator was another young she had known but long since realised she'd never loved. Love was something Rinoa had and would only ever feel for one man, Squall Leonhart, in whose arms she stood.  
  
As if realising her thoughts he brought a hand up to her face and let his fingers run along her soft skin, he admired her beautiful features and the face he'd feared would be lost to him forever. She was gazing up at him with such intensity that he couldn't help the worlds that spilled out.  
  
"I love you." He wasn't sure if it was enough to explain how he felt about her but part of him had realised she needed to hear it, he needed to say it. She took a deep breath and blinked once, slowly before looking up at him again. "Rinoa?" he asked, not quite sure if he'd said too much too soon, but her brown eyes opened again glittering with tears in the soft moonlight and showed him what his heart already knew.  
  
"I love you too." She spoke a little louder than he had but she could have whispered it and still have the same effect. He pulled her closely once more and ran his fingers through her silky black hair, guarding her against the wind and taking in the light fragrance of her shampoo.  
  
Despite the warmth of his confession and his body Rinoa still shivered as the wind picked up around them so she buried her hands underneath his jacket to shelter them, Squall in turn held her al the more closely but as the wind became stronger he knew they'd have to go back into the ballroom.  
  
"Come on its warmer inside." He told her, giving her a gentle squeeze and a kiss on the top of her head. She moved away looking a little sad – as if somehow the magic of the night would leave when they stepped inside . But he wasn't going to let that happen just yet – if at all, their journey across the oceans in Balamb Garden meant that although the celebrations had been going on for hours, local time was just after nine at night – not that it would have changed anything anyway. The point was that he knew Rinoa was still unsure how he felt being with her – couple things – around the others, and to a certain extent so was he, but he also knew that there was no point in hiding any longer and he wanted to be with her so why not show it? So he reached down and took hold of her hand and almost laughing at the look of surprise on her face. "Come on." But she couldn't answer him, unable to stop smiling she was just looking at him until he lead the way inside tugging gently on her hand until she followed and leaned against his arm completely contented and safe in the knowledge that the magic wasn't going anywhere just yet.  
  
Inside the party was still going strong, a few people had left but they were mainly lower class men who tired easily. Rinoa noticed Zell, still sat with a plate of hotdogs and deep in conversation with Laurie – one of the library committee. She couldn't help the chuckle it provoked – it seemed that there was finally somebody who would listen to him so intently and that he would actually talk to, Zells shyness with women didn't seem to matter when it came to her.  
  
Selphie and Irvine were sat at the next table putting the spare battery, or at least trying to get it into the video camera. But it just looked like Irvine was just using it as an excuse to kiss Selphie – not that the latter was complaining, she seemed more than willing to go along with it, even when the camera had been fixed.  
  
"I take it they want us on that thing." Squall said quietly pointing with his free hand to the sharpshooter and the head of the festival committee.  
  
"Yeah, but they look a little busy at the moment." She answered as they backed off and headed towards Cid and Edea's table.  
  
The older woman greeted Rinoa with an uncertain, yet warm smile. She still blamed herself for what happened to the young sorceress and what in turn Squall had been put through because of it, he was after all still the boy she'd raised and loved as her own. Edea did notice however that he seemed to have come out of the situation a lot better than he'd gone into it. The way he was holding Rinoa's hand tightly in his own only proved her theory, he was happy at last.  
  
"Ah Squall!" Cid greeted, with a lopsided smile that told Squall and Rinoa that he'd had too much to drink. "I take it that you're having a good time?" he nodded and took the seat Edea offered. Rinoa sat next to him and he gave her hand a final squeeze before letting go.  
  
"Yes, thank you sir." Squall replied.  
  
"You certainly deserve it, you've been through a lot – you should enjoy yourself." Edea added, looking at both of them.  
  
"I Am." he answered, glancing at Rinoa who had her hand over her mouth trying to stifle a yawn. He knew she was smiling at him none the less and he pulled her chair closer to his as she seemed unsure about sitting there.  
  
"So it seems is everybody else." Edea told him. "Oh, Quistis asked me to tell you that she'll look after everything for the last couple of days and that it's not a problem so don't worry."  
  
"She didn't have to." Although Squall knew why she had. Quistis had never been one for long parties, which seemed to contradict the amount of times she'd tried to get him to enjoy himself and go – but that was another matter. Maybe now she just wanted him to have the freedom to do what he wanted, to spend as much time as he could with Rinoa.  
  
"She wanted to." The older woman reassured him so he nodded in a sort of acceptance and feeling a weight on his right side he turned slightly in his seat to find an exhausted Rinoa falling asleep on his arm. He couldn't explain the feelings that the sight provoked or the warmth that filled his heart but he moved closer still, until their chairs clunked slightly and he put his arm around her as she mumbled in her sleep.  
  
"Squall, don't stay on our account and you must be tired yourself, I know that none of you have slept since it happened." Edea reassured him knowing he probably felt a little awkward about asking to leave himself.  
  
His cheeks coloured slightly as he answered her. "Thanks, we'll see you tomorrow." She nodded and turned her attention to her husband, who by now was half way off his own chair as Squall stood up keeping Rinoa at his side.  
  
She stirred and eventually woke up enough to realise what was going on. "Where are we going?" she asked, staring up at him as they passed Selphie who had the camera in her hand, pointed in their direction. Squall just smiled nervously and waved as he walked, with his arm still around Rinoa out of the ballroom.  
  
"Back to the dorms before you fall asleep completely." He told her quietly.  
  
"Sorry." She replied, yawning again and wrapping her arms around him as they approached the elevator. "I just can't remember the last time I had a good – nights – sleep." With her yawning kept interrupting her speech.  
  
"Shhh." He whispered and pressed a kiss on her smooth black hair, just to the side of one of her high lights and pressed the button for the main floor. "After what you've been through I'm surprised you stayed awake this long." and he yawned himself as the doors opened and he stepped out. The main floor was lit only by the small in wall lighting that lined the corridors and accompanied by the fountains flowing rhythm it sent Squalls mind into a state of relaxation and he could soon feel himself drifting off.  
  
"It's beautiful here at night." She mumbled against his chest, mirroring his own thoughts as they walked.  
  
"Yeah, I guess that's one word for it." He replied glancing down at her and wondering if he was only noticing all of this because of her, wondering how much he'd missed in his life because he didn't have somebody like her to show him the way and to bring him out of himself.  
  
The rest of the journey was spent in a comfortable silence, Rinoa drifted in and out of the first stages of sleep but Squall became more and more aware of the fact that her dorm was pretty close now and that he really didn't want to be alone in his bed that night. Even though it was all over now and he knew he was safe from any external threat others lay in his own mind, monsters he could no longer fight on his own.  
  
So eventually he stood with absolutely no idea what to do outside of her room, well the guest room she was staying in until a more permanent arrangement could be made.  
  
Rinoa held on to him in an attempt to explain that she didn't want to him to leave her and that she didn't want to be apart from him at all. Knowing that she'd gone as far as she could as regards opening him up and that now it was his turn to take the next step. She reasoned that maybe he wasn't ready and would need to do this his own way – she'd be there right by his side when he needed her.  
  
Squall swiped his master key card through the door lock and winced slightly at how loud it sounded during the night and especially when they were trying to keep as quiet as possible. "Rinoa..." he started, but fell short on what he'd intended to say and when she looked up at him he didn't feel like saying anything anyway.  
  
"Hum hum." She prodded gently but he still didn't finish what he was saying so instead he tipped his head down and kissed her gently, closing his eyes and holding on to her as if nothing else mattered.  
  
All too soon though the moment was over when she yawned stepping out of his arms and into her room. Knowing all the time that if he wanted her then he had to ask - had to show that he wanted her with him that night. His love for her wasn't in question but he ability to ask for her was.  
  
He watched her walk into her room, with her back to him and the white wings on her cardigan catching the light as she shook her head. It drew his mind back to the wasteland he'd been trapped in after the defeat of Ultimicia, he'd called out for her then and she'd found him and saved his life but not before he'd fallen into an unconscious oblivion when he thought he'd lost her. It seemed that every time he needed her all he had to do was reach out to her and she'd be there – as many times as he had been for her, he'd even heard her call out in space and he knew, on some level that Rinoa was waiting for him as she stood in her room. But it was all still do new, he'd spent so long thinking he could do it on him own - that he didn't need anybody else that now asking for her to stay with him felt a little strange. His heart however, now that she had helped him set it free, over ruled his head and so Squall did the only thing he wanted to do.  
  
"Rinoa." At the sound of his voice she turned around and looked at him, only this time her image didn't fade or blur like it had when he was lost, he could see her as clearly in the soft moonlight as on the brightest day.  
  
"I'm tired... and... I don't want to be... alone." He stepped into the room fully but he dropped his gaze to the floor, uncertain if she understood his silent plea.  
  
"You're not alone Squall." She said simply and he looked up to see her standing in front of him with her eyes locked on his. "And I know that you're tired of getting buy all on your own but you don't have to anymore." Her sincerity never faltered and without even thinking Squall took her into his arms once more and held her close.  
  
"I know...I just don't know what I'm supposed to do." He whispered.  
  
"What do you want to do?" came the muffled question.  
  
"I want to... I want you to stay with me... tonight. But I don't want it to feel like I'm using you... just because I need you." She felt tears prick her eyes at his confession and had to swallow hard before she could say anything in response.  
  
"Why would you think there's anything wrong with needing me?" she asked and he released his hold slightly so she could look at him.  
  
"Because..." but he didn't have a real answer to the question, "I'm afraid of loosing this." He added finally.  
  
Rinoa smiled "You won't loose this. Squall I love you – that means I need you too." She paused to wipe his hair from in front of his eyes "I don't know what I would have done if you'd left me here." She fell back into his arms and held him closely; more relieved than she thought she would be as the moments passed. But eventually a question rose in her mind, it was the way he'd asked her.  
  
"With you, as in your room?" she asked a little curious as to what he'd meant.  
  
"Yeah." He replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world.  
  
"What's wrong with this room?" she asked delighting in the way his eyes sparkled with signs of laughter as he looked at her.  
  
"It's not the room, its next door that's the problem." He explained leading her out into the corridor and pointing to the door on the left. The words 'Festival committee headquarters' were written in black letters on a sheet of paper attached to it.  
  
"Selphies room, what's so wrong with that?" Rinoa asked him knowing full well that Selphie was more than likely to spend the night with Irvine anyway, he'd been bragging earlier about having the best guest room in the place, something about room service or something.  
  
"Irvine let you take the last guest room. He's sharing with Selphie tonight." Squall could actually see the realisation on her face.  
  
"That explains a lot." She said calmly. "Lead the way and wake me if I fall asleep before we get there, I want to remember this." She whispered and Squall slipped his arm around her shoulder before heading down the corridor and thanking what ever god was out there for her finding him.  
  
Angelo, Rinoa's four legged companion had joined them along the way, making Squall wonder how she'd gotten down the elevator as they walked with her eyeing him most of the way. It seemed as if she was accessing his trustworthiness and whether her mistress would be safe with him. Eventually though she rubbed up against his leg followed at his side.  
  
"Squall?" Rinoa mumbled as she opened her eyes enough to see where she was, just how long are these corridors anyway?  
  
"We're almost there, Angelo's joined us by the way." He told her, answering her unspoken question as they finally made it to his dorm room.  
  
"She has a habit of doing that, don't worry though I think she likes you." She explained as he ran the swipe card through the sensor and walking into the room. Angelo headed straight for the spot underneath the window and settled herself down.  
  
Squall however was a little unsure what to do; he just stood there with his sleeping princess, come angel, come sorceress dozing at his side.  
  
"We can't sleep standing up." She told him quietly.  
  
"I...um... I know." She chuckled softly at his response and slipped out of his arms.  
  
"If you're not ok with this..." she said, not really sure how to read the expression on his face.  
  
"It's not that. I've just never slept close to anyone in my life – that I can remember anyway, and certainly not with someone I care about as much as you." He stared down at the floor as he said it, something Rinoa was fast becoming used to seeing him do.  
  
"I haven't either... not with anyone." He looked at her then with a smile on his lips as a silent fear had appeared unwarranted.  
  
She didn't say anymore, instead she undid the clasp on her cardigan and took it off, followed by her arm warmers and only looking up at him once she had.  
  
"You can leave your clothes on the chair over there, I don't have any other hangers for them in here." It felt like a lame thing to say but he couldn't think of anything else. His dozy mind wasn't functioning properly and put with how completely beautiful she looked in the moonlight he couldn't think coherently at all.  
  
But she did as he offered and as she slipped her boots off she watched him do the same, not knowing if she should really be watching him or not though she occupied herself with unbuttoning the blue green cloth from around her and taking off the black shorts as well. The logical part of her mind told her that it was pointless sleeping in them and her black vest went well past her waist so she reasoned there was nothing to worry about, it wasn't as if they were going to 'sleep together'.  
  
Squall sat on the edge of his bed once he'd undressed as far as his boxer shorts and shirt with his heart racing despite his tiredness as he watched her approach him. He stood up and pulled the covers from the top of the bed and slid underneath, not once moving away from her gaze.  
  
"Come here." His voice was soft but it spoke right to a deeper part of herself than she was really aware of and she moved into the bed until she lay at his side. Once he'd pulled the covers over them he settled on his back, with his arm around her shoulders, her head resting on his chest and her left arm across him. Sleep beaconed once more but he didn't want to surcome just yet. He wanted to remember this, that she was here, with him and he could hold her and love her without fear that she'd be taken away.  
  
"Good night." she whispered, snuggling closer to him under the covers and looking up at him once more, taking in his peaceful features in the soft light that escaped the curtains.  
  
"Rinoa?"  
  
"Um?"  
  
"You comfortable?" he asked, yawning just as he did.  
  
"Perfect." She replied nuzzling her head against his chest and listening to his heart beating rhythmically beneath her. After everything they had been through she was free to be with him and hold him in the knowledge that, for now at least they were completely safe.  
  
Soon after they both drifted into the peace of their dreams and for the first time in as long as either could remember they slept soundly now that the adventure was over and they were free to start out on their own.  
  
I hope the new format is easier to read! Please review but only nice and helpful comments please! 


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